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African Americans & The Decatur House

Where Charlotte Dupuy takes a brave stand against slavery

How Long?1 minute

Few people know the story of a brave woman named Charlotte Dupuy who
was enslaved in Decatur House, the large brick residence that has stood
on Lafayette Square at the corner of H Street and Jackson Place since
1818. In 1829, while living at Decatur House, Dupuy sued her owner,
Secretary of State Henry Clay, for her freedom. Charlotte Dupuy, or
"Lotty" as she was known, felt that Clay was obligated to uphold an
agreement she had with her previous owner to free her and her two
children, Charles and Mary Ann. Clay's tenure as the Secretary of State
ended before the case was decided, so Clay was instructed by the Circuit
Court to leave Dupuy behind in Washington, though he took her husband
and children back to Kentucky with him. Charlotte Dupuy continued to
live in
Decatur House and was employed by the home's next resident,
Secretary of State Martin Van Buren.

The Court ultimately ruled against Dupuy and she was forcibly
taken to the New Orleans residence of Clay's daughter and, eventually,
to Clay's Kentucky estate. In 1840, eleven years after her lawsuit,
Henry Clay freed Charlotte Dupuy.